


Mother Wolf

by Kyrathekiller



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Catelyn Tully Stark Lives, First chapter is all dialogue from two random smallfolk, Gen, Not Beta Read, We Die Like Men, who for some reason have a slight southern accent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-05
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:34:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21683806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyrathekiller/pseuds/Kyrathekiller
Summary: “There was this lil’ town we’d ended up stumblin’ into. The people seemed to know where we come from. They brought us to see this knight, I think his name was Flint, he was bleeding in thirty places n’ I think he had a fever.”“But he said he’d been in the hall when the killin’ started. After the beddin’ they started pulling out swords n’ crossbows. And he said… m’lady… he tol’ us…”“The King in The North was killed, m’lady.”
Comments: 5
Kudos: 11





	1. Prologue

“They’d given us bread n’ salt the moment we’d arrived, m’lady.”

“None of us who were in the castle knew what was happening at first.”

“We’d heard, from the servants who brought food n’ ale from the castle that the beddin’ had started. Next thing we knew bolts were flyin’.”

“A group o’ us cut our way the crowd n’ the death n’ the fire.”

“They didn’ seem to care much about us. They only chased down knights and other highborns tryin’ to escape.”

“We didn’ know where to go at first. We wanted to come back to m’lady, of course, but…”

“We didn’ have any horses to ride, m’lady, and our shoes were already halfway to rotten.”

“We decided to lay low for a while. Just because they hadn’ been focusing on us before, didn’ mean they weren’ gonna start roundin’ up any witnesses.”

“There was this lil’ town we’d ended up stumblin’ into. The people seemed to know where we come from. They brought us to see this knight, I think his name was Flint, he was bleeding in thirty places n’ I think he had a fever.”

“But he said he’d been in the hall when the killin’ started. After the beddin’ they started pulling out swords n’ crossbows. And he said… m’lady… he tol’ us…”

“The King in The North was killed, m’lady.”


	2. Brynden I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit I actually wrote something? I'm in shock. This chapter is mostly filling in the gaps. I promise there'll be lots of emotion in the next chapter when I write from Cat's POV.

Brynden Tully had never had any children of his own. Not that this was something he regretted, in fact, his obstinate refusal of a life that would grant him children was what gave him his nickname, The Blackfish. Blackfish knew what it was to lose a father. Blackfish knew what is was to lose a mother. He knew what it was to lose a brother. He knew what it was to lose a cousin, to lose a good-sister, to lose a friend, to lose a love. But he would never know the loss of a child. And looking at Catelyn now, there was some part of him that was glad he never would.

Just a moon past, The King in the North had ridden from Riverrun with his trusted advisors and sworn swords all about him. Once he was free to move his armies across the twins, Robb Stark had no intention of waiting before he turned his attention back to the north.

“I’ve allowed the Krakens to hold my land for far too long,” the young king had proclaimed. “The fact that I gave them opportunity to invade at all is a disgrace I’ll never be able to wash away.”

“You had no way of knowing that Theon would betray you,” Edmure protested. “And even if you had you were already preoccupied dealing with Tywin Lannister.”

“Do you think that matters to the farmers that the Greyjoys have slaughtered? Or to the women they’ve carried off as Salt Wives? Do you think it matters to my brothers’ corpses?” No one seemed to have an answer for the young king. “How can I be King in the North if I cannot protect The North?” The king faltered, and for an instant, Brynden could see the young, frightened boy who Robb attempted to keep behind the mask of a grown man. “This marriage is the only hope we have to keep the fight alive. We set out for the Twins the day after tomorrow.”

And that was that. Once the king made a command no room was given for anyone to debate. Anyone except the king’s mother, of course.

When her son told her that she was to remain in Riverrun, it was as if a fire, one that Brynden had thought left Cat forever, was relit. The mother and son fought for hours, and Brynden was sure that their shouts grew so loud that Tywin Lannister must have had trouble sleeping. In the end, though the king won the battle, as he won all of his battles. 

“My lords are still mistrustful of you for releasing the Kingslayer. I can’t have my forces divided if I am to lead them into battle again. The fighting will be over soon, mother, I promise. Once it is I’ll send for you, and we’ll walk back into Winterfell together. With you at my side, we’ll heal the North.” Unfortunately, the king was right, and the fighting was over soon. 

_ The Red Wedding  _ as the smallfolk were calling it, had destroyed the meager host that remained to their cause. If they were not slaughtered outright, most of their bannermen, including his own nephew, were currently rotting away in cells beneath the twins waiting to the ransomed or executed or worse.

When the casualties had been relayed to Catelyn, Brynden could see she was not listening. He supposed that none of it could hurt her anymore, she had already lost everything. In just a year, Catelyn Tully Stark, Lady of Winterfell, daughter of Hoster Tully, wife of Lord Eddard Stark, and mother of Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Rickon Stark, had become Catelyn Tully Stark, Lady of Nothing, daughter of No One, wife of No One, and mother of No One.

As the last living Stark, as well as the only heir of Hoster Tully not a hostage, those left in Riverrun looked to Catelyn for guidance. But she gave none. She spent most days locked away in her father’s bedroom. She would eat if she was given food, and drink if she was given water, but talking to her held no certainty of receiving a response. So maintenance of the castle fell upon Blackfish. 

No matter how busy he was, however, Brynden always made sure to visit his niece to sup with her. They’d talk, or rather he would talk hoping against hope that if he said the right words Catelyn would break her silence. She never did. 

The days passed by in a blur. Some more survivors had made their way to Riverrun, and Brynden made sure that each of them could be trusted before he even gave a hint to them that Catelyn was somewhere in the castle. One visitor, however, did not allow Brynden the benefit of time to build trust with him. 

Despite hearing countless stories about the man who couldn’t die, Brynden Tully had never given much credence to them. Either Beric Dondarrion was dead, and all the tales about him were no more than fancies created by his band of merry men, or all the injuries he had supposedly suffered were not as bad as the accounts made them out to be. And yet… looking at the man now, Brynden wasn’t as sure anymore. 

The man was haggard and thin but could still swing a sword with the ferocity of a battle-hardened knight. The wounds that littered his body were not ones Blackfish could imagine even the most skilled maesters healing, but nonetheless they were healed.

But the questions Beric and his Brotherhood brought to the Blackfish were far from the most concerning things he now had to deal with. Much had happened while he cowered behind the walls of Riverrun. Far to much.

“Now, with Tommen as King and the Tyrell girl as his queen, the Iron Throne is ready to start reclaiming the Riverlands.”

“Who’s their commander now, if Tywin Lannister’s been killed?”

“If I had to guess, I’d put my money on Jaime Lannister. Rumor has it that he returned to the capital around the same time King Joffery was killed.”

For a moment, anger filled Blackfish as his niece's foolish gamble had brought them nothing after all. He took a breath, willing himself to be calm, to remain in the moment, in the battle. “What of Stannis?”

“I have not heard much of Stannis. It seems he’s all but abandoned Dragonstone. Beyond that, I don’t know. He may have fled to Essos or he could be planning his next attack. But his disappearance is the main catalyst for the Lannisters turning their focus onto the Riverlands.”

Brynden gave a long and weary sigh. “You and your men can take refuge here. Thank you for warning us. We’ll have to begin preparing for a siege.”

Brynden turned to leave, but Beric called one more question after him. “What of Lady Catelyn, My Lord?”

Brynden paused, turning his response over in his mouth like something gone sour. He would inform Catelyn of this, no doubt, but he would not allow his niece's grief to become the next topic for the gossip spread between serving women and hedge knights. “Lady Catelyn is attending other matters at the moment. I will be sure to inform her of the full situation immediately.” And his that he turned on his heel and made his way deeper into the castle. 

No Brynden Tully never had any children of his own, but all the demons in the seven hells couldn’t keep him from protecting his Little Cat.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review and feel free to point out any mistakes, like I said in the tags I don't beta read these so there are probably some dumb mistakes. 
> 
> I'm gonna be following the show for the most part with this, as I am not GRRM and cannot tell a story that complex. But I will take a lot of elements from the books. As well as throwing out any and all shit from the show I didn't like. 
> 
> Gonna find a healthy middle ground. If you have any questions about what show/book elements I'm gonna cut or leave in feel free to ask.


End file.
